Abstract
A fundamental property of human visual perception is our ability to distinguish between textures. A concerted effort has been made to account for texture segregation in terms of linear spatial filter models and their nonlinear extensions. However, for certain texture pairs the ease of discrimination changes when the role of figure and ground are reversed. This asymmetry poses a problem for both linear and nonlinear models. We have isolated a property of texture perception that can account for this asymmetry in discrimination: subjective closure. This property, which is also responsible for visual illusions, appears to be explainable by early visual processes alone. Our results force a reexamination of the process of human texture segregation and of some recent models that were introduced to explain it.
Full text
PDF



Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bergen J. R., Adelson E. H. Early vision and texture perception. Nature. 1988 May 26;333(6171):363–364. doi: 10.1038/333363a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gurnsey R., Browse R. A. Micropattern properties and presentation conditions influencing visual texture discrimination. Percept Psychophys. 1987 Mar;41(3):239–252. doi: 10.3758/bf03208222. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Julesz B., Kröse B. Visual texture perception. Features and spatial filters. Nature. 1988 May 26;333(6171):302–303. doi: 10.1038/333302a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Julesz B. Texton gradients: the texton theory revisited. Biol Cybern. 1986;54(4-5):245–251. doi: 10.1007/BF00318420. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Julesz B. Textons, the elements of texture perception, and their interactions. Nature. 1981 Mar 12;290(5802):91–97. doi: 10.1038/290091a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kanizsa G. Subjective contours. Sci Am. 1976 Apr;234(4):48–52. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0476-48. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rubenstein B. S., Sagi D. Spatial variability as a limiting factor in texture-discrimination tasks: implications for performance asymmetries. J Opt Soc Am A. 1990 Sep;7(9):1632–1643. doi: 10.1364/josaa.7.001632. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sagi D., Julesz B. Short-range limitation on detection of feature differences. Spat Vis. 1987;2(1):39–49. doi: 10.1163/156856887x00042. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Treisman A., Gormican S. Feature analysis in early vision: evidence from search asymmetries. Psychol Rev. 1988 Jan;95(1):15–48. doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.95.1.15. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Treisman A., Souther J. Search asymmetry: a diagnostic for preattentive processing of separable features. J Exp Psychol Gen. 1985 Sep;114(3):285–310. doi: 10.1037//0096-3445.114.3.285. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Voorhees H., Poggio T. Computing texture boundaries from images. Nature. 1988 May 26;333(6171):364–367. doi: 10.1038/333364a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- von der Heydt R., Peterhans E., Baumgartner G. Illusory contours and cortical neuron responses. Science. 1984 Jun 15;224(4654):1260–1262. doi: 10.1126/science.6539501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]